For this week’s review, I visited Mot Hai Ba, Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson‘s new Vietnamese restaurant in Old East Dallas — in the former York Street space (that more recently was Bistro Watel’s). Have you been? We’d love to hear what you think of the restaurant — and of the review.

Omar Flores, the chef at Driftwood, uses small bouquets of purslane to garnish a gorgeous tuna tartare and a main course of King salmon, smoked corn, bacon and Littleneck clams. Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson are putting it on plates of fried frog legs and dropping it on giant char-grilled prawns at their new, modern Vietnamese restaurant, Mot Hai Ba. Tim Bevins, the new chef at the Front Room: A Park Cities Diner, just stopped in to Tom Spicer‘s FM 1410, looking for some — according to Spicer.

If the association of purslane with those five bold-face names doesn’t add up to a trend, I don’t know what does. And I’ll venture to guess that purslane will be showing up on more and more plates around town as we head into summer.

I first came upon it on a trip to the coast of Turkey in 2008, where it’s eaten in salads. That same year, Tina Danze featured a purslane salad in a Dallas Morning News story about no-cook side dishes for the fourth of July. The story included a recipe by Sharon Hage (whose York Street was still open) for an heirloom tomato salad with purslane and salty cheese. Funny that the herb has come full circle: Mot Hai Ba occupies the former York Street space, and O’Hare used to work for Hage. The link for the story has long expired, but I can walk you through the recipe.

Sharon Hage's 2008 purslane salad

Cut a pound to a pound and a half of ripe heirloom tomatoes into wedges. Peel and seed a cucumber, and add it to the tomatoes. Toss them with some red wine vinegar, good olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add four ounces of purslane, some crumbled salty cheese (like queso fresco or a good feta), a couple tablespoons of chopped mint and a little chopped basil. (I think it would be nice to tear the mint and basil.) Toss it, adjust seasoning, and serve.

But wait: Where do you get the purslane? Tom Spicer is selling it, as you know if you were paying attention, at FM1410. He says it’s also available at Fiesta, but make sure it has enough leaves on it. “It’s trucked in out of Mexico,” says Spicer. “They top-ice it all and all the leaves fall off.” Or, if you have enough of it and you haven’t been putting any scary chemicals on it, go ahead and raid your garden.

UPDATE: I just heard from Anastacia Quinones, chef at Komali, who suggests: “Try it wilted, like spinach, with a little lime and butter, and finish with spiced pepitas. You’ll swoon.” Sounds wonderful, and I will try it soon as I can get my hands on some. Quinones says Komali has purslane on its new summer menu with Texas redfish, chile de arból and Texas peaches.

Here’s some exciting news: Jeana Johnson and Colleen O’Hare plan to open their new Vietnamese street-food spot, Mot Hai Ba, on Tuesday in the former York Street/Bistro Watel’s space. Mot hai ba means “1, 2, 3,” according to the press release, and the dinner menu is divided that way. Under “mot” you’ll find things like sizzling cake with shrimp, sprouts and scallion; banana flower salad with chicken; and imperial rolls with pork and shrimp. Hai includes marinated grilled fish with ginger, dill and yogurt; shaking beef with red onion and watercress; chargrilled prawns with lime and chile and more. Under Ba there’s banana cake, sorbet du jour and creme caramel with coconut milk.

For lunch, look forward to pho, banh mi sandwiches and chargrilled pork bellly and pork meatballs (a great idea!) served with vermicelli, imperial roll and herbs. Another great idea: an all-French wine list.

In September, Jones and O’Hare, only a few months into the run of Acme F&B, which they opened with two partners, abruptly left the kitchen in the hands of a new chef, Norman Grimm. Not long after, they sold their shares of the business to their partners, Barcadia owners Brooke Humphries and Brianna Larson. According to Culture Map, Jones and O’Hare are keeping mum about the concept for now, but it won’t be fine dining.

If you happen to know anything about Texas’ bizarre oyster laws and read last week’s review of Acme F&B, you may have wondered how Acme chefs (and co-owners) Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson get around our state’s bivalve regulations. After all, the laws make it illegal to sell, in Texas, any species of oyster not native to the Gulf of Mexico; the only legal oysters in Texas are the species Cassostrea virginica. While North Atlantic oysters are indeed that species, and so are perfectly legal, most West Coast oysters are not. So how can they be selling contraband West Coast osyters? I put the question to the chefs, who answered me via email:

Our goal is to serve the freshest, cleanest product we can procure. Our source for oysters is the most paid attention to that we could find. For 10 years we have been serving and eating west coast oysters here in Dallas. This law, as we read it, is to protect the red-tide-ridden Gulf of Mexico and applies to commercial fisheries importing additional species rather than restaurants in land locked cities. We will patiently wait for the oyster police while slurping our delicious Nisqually Sweets.

Actually, the law applies to the entire state, not just land-locked cities. According to a Texas Parks and Wildlife official I interviewed for a story about the oyster ban in 2010, “It’s because those could have the potential to get into our bay and estuary system, and they’re an invasive [species].”

Here’s some exciting news: Coleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson, the chefs behind Good 2 Go Taco, plan to open a fine-dining restaurant this spring. Acme F+B will be in the former Cretia’s (and more recently Bull and Bear) space at McKinney Ave. and Monticello.

For the concept, which they’re calling “come as you are fine dining,” they’re partnering with bar entrepreneurs Brooke Humphries and Brianna Larson, founders of Barcadia Bars in Dallas and Fort Worth and the Beauty Bar on Henderson Ave., who will manage the bar.

Says O’Hare via the press release, “We’re going to cook dinner the way we would at home – where we grab a baguette and pate and a bottle of wine. It’s about the five senses, the enjoyment of cooking, eating, of sitting down and sharing a meal and enjoying some one’s company.”

Meanwhile, is F+B the new “Social”? DFW.com reported yesterday that Consilient Restaurants plans to open a new restaurant, American F+B, in Fort Worth’s West 7th District; Consilient’s Tristan Simon confirmed the details reported.

Did you ever eat at Good 2 Go Taco at the Green Spot? I loved the tacos Jeana Johnson and Colleen O’Hare made there, and I included the place in my Best in DFW: Taquerias story in 2009.

Good 2 Go left the Green Spot some time ago, and Teresa Gubbinsreported at Pegasus News this morning that Johnson and O’Hare were almost ready to open in their new location. Now Good 2 Go’s Facebook page says they opened this morning. “Come see us for lunch today!” says the post. “We tried a soft opening this morning and I think we are ready for the juice.” I have a call in to Johnson and O’Hare to confirm; will update when I hear back.